Fish Finder — Published Nov. 21, 2012

Wednesday

Nov 21, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Delta

Peter Ottesen

An impressive fall striped bass run continues with excellent catches reported on both sides (Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers) of the estuary, especially for anglers who choose to drift and jig or anchor and use bait, shad, bullheads or mudsuckers.

Ron Halvorson prefers to use shad near West Island, in the shadow of the Antioch Bridge, where he boats stripers in the 10- to 13 1/2-pound bracket. He culls through the smaller 3- to 6-pound fish and retains the quality-sized bass.

Halvorson, a commercial shad fisherman, delivers bait to his shop - Thornton Road Bait - and to outlets in Antioch, Isleton and down the line, before taking time to fish for himself. Recently, he guided his father, Skip, to limit-style fishing. "This month has been the best for striped bass in a long time," he said. "In spite of hyacinth and floating weeds, the bite has been sensational."

Near Herman and Helen's Marina, David Campbell of Modesto is graphing huge schools of bass along the Deep Water Channel and jigs in 40 feet of water. On Sunday, he hooked and released more than 20 bass, including keepers in the 5- to 8-pound bracket.

"We're hooking all sizes, from 6-inchers to 8-pounders," Campbell said. "You've got to drift in the current, avoid hyacinth and stay with the big schools of stripers."

Said guide Barry Canevaro of Fish Hookers Sportfishing in Isleton: "It's fantastic fishing, just really good. On Monday, we caught 20 fish and kept six in the 7- to 9-pound class. I have to put up with hyacinth on top and weeds on the bottom, but the fish are really thick. I'd suspect there will be excellent action through the end of the year."

Salmon fishing season continues through Dec. 16 but the bulk of the migratory spawning run is over. Diehards try for salmon above Wimpy's Marina on the Mokelumne River. Work the very narrow locations with jigs.

Ocean - Beat goes on for combination trips that target Dungeness crabs and rockfish. The limits on partyboats are six crabs and 10 mixed rockfish. An occasional lingcod, 10 to 12 pounds, is a bonus. Pick the harbor, from Monterey to Bodega bays. Fishing is really good.

San Pablo Bay - Windy, cold and sprinkling. Buoy 11 near Rodeo is yielding close to limits with mudsuckers and bullheads for Capt. Gordy Hough on the Morning Star. Good sturgeon tides start just after Thanksgiving. More rain and muddy water would help.

Amador - On Monday, boaters drifted green Power Worms and caught large trout, 2 pounds and up. Bank anglers try across the dam and in the backs of the coves, and likely do better than boaters, tossing white Power Eggs and floating baits. Concessionaires plant 1,000 pounds of trout every weekday through May.

Camanche - On tap to receive 80,000 pounds of trout through May. Bank anglers hook them form the North and South Shore marinas and the South Shore Pond. Trolling is picking up. Black bass are numerous but not too large.

Los Vaqueros - Anglers have choices: Bait fish for trout or cast spoons and jigs for striped bass. New marina and well-outfitted boats are available. Half-day rentals are the best value in the state.

New Melones - Kokanee Power volunteers are taking care of pen-raised brown trout at the marina and will release them when they grow to 2 pounds and better. The Department of Fish and Game is stocking rainbows on a consistent basis, so shoreline fishing at Tuttletown and Glory Hole is improving. No end to spotted bass hooked on 1/2- and 3/4-ounce baits. Silver-black and silver-blue are top colors to match threadfin shad baitfish.